Madagascan president to address nation as protesters call for new rallies

Madagascar’s embattled President Andry Rajoelina has announced he will address the nation amid pressure from protesters and from within the military for him to resign.

The presidency announced on Monday that Rajoelina would deliver a televised address at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT). Meanwhile, with persistent rumours that he has lost control of the country, protesters have called for new rallies in the capital, Antananarivo.

Student-led demonstrations across recent weeks have met with aggression from authorities. However, the president was forced to take a backward step over the weekend as an elite military unit came out in support of the protesters’ demand that he quit.

Soldiers from the CAPSAT unit openly sided with the protesters on Saturday.

The following day, Rajoelina declared that a coup was taking place, as CAPSAT installed a new military chief during a ceremony attended by the armed forces minister, who welcomed the appointment.

Home or abroad?

The president’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

Authorities have asserted that he is in Madagascar and managing national affairs. However, hundreds returned to the streets on Monday in a celebratory mood amid rumours that Rajoelina has fled.

Some soldiers joined the crowd, with students hanging from military vehicles and brandishing flags.

The student group leading the protest movement, which has called itself Gen Z, has called for another demonstration on Monday.

The military intervention marks a dramatic escalation in unrest that erupted on September 25 over chronic electricity and water shortages, before evolving into wider calls for political change.

“We responded to the people’s call,” a commander of the CAPSAT unit, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, told reporters.

The defection carries particular significance given CAPSAT’s pivotal role in the 2009 military-backed coup that brought Rajoelina to power.

The military has repeatedly intervened in politics since Madagascar gained independence from France in 1960.

On Sunday, crowds gathered at the symbolic May 13 Square – the traditional heart of political uprisings in Antananarivo – to celebrate alongside CAPSAT soldiers, who drove through in armoured vehicles to cheers from protesters waving national flags.

RFI, France’s public broadcaster, reported that among those present was former President Marc Ravalomanana, whom Rajoelina ousted.

Positioning himself as a reformist, Rajoelina led a transitional government until 2014, stepping aside to restore constitutional order. He returned after winning the 2019 election and secured a second full term in 2023.

The United Nations says at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since demonstrations began, although the government disputes these figures. One CAPSAT soldier died in clashes with the gendarmerie on Saturday.

The protests have exposed deep frustration in one of the world’s poorest nations, where only a third of the population has access to electricity and blackouts routinely exceed eight hours a day.

The Gen Z Madagascar movement, at the heart of the protests, has drawn inspiration from uprisings that have challenged governments in several countries, including Kenya, Indonesia and Peru, recently.

Such youth-led demonstrations have helped to unseat governments in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.